Great to hear you are back Jack, staying unbroken trumps all other objectives!

Ref the custard, I was looking at the Vitruvian results yesterday and it struck me how good the performances of people with lashings of custard were, compared to 5-10years ago. There are some amazing results in the 55-59 and 60-64 groups on a few races I have done including yesterday’s (not that I did it yesterday!). I am putting it down to a large cohort of people who took up racing/fitness in their 40s and are just moving up the age range. An alternative explanation is more are retiring early and devoting more time to training etc. One way or the other those podiums are just as difficult

Jimba wrote:Great to hear you are back Jack, staying unbroken trumps all other objectives!

Ref the custard, I was looking at the Vitruvian results yesterday and it struck me how good the performances of people with lashings of custard were, compared to 5-10years ago. There are some amazing results in the 55-59 and 60-64 groups on a few races I have done including yesterday’s (not that I did it yesterday!). I am putting it down to a large cohort of people who took up racing/fitness in their 40s and are just moving up the age range. An alternative explanation is more are retiring early and devoting more time to training etc. One way or the other those podiums are just as difficult

What I have consistently noted, in park run, is that the age group above me (i.e. yours) does consistently better, both median and mean, than my age group.

Small population (after 70 runners)

Top 3 VM 55+

10th @ 23:0814th @ 23:4526th @ 27:05

Top 3 VM 50+

5th @ 22:1623rd @ 26:2924th @ 26:56

Median 23:45 vs. 26:29Mean 24:39 vs 25:14

Obviously, the running rot set in the year I was born

p.s. it's quite a tough course as the times reflect, only the first finisher was under 20 minutes on Saturday.

I had not heard of them before, but just looked at them, very pricey for a short life trainer, but well regarded. It seems, capable of being used for training and racing. If they drop in price ( end of season sale ), I may look at them more.

Nice interview with Amy Williams on BBC Breakfast ( Thursday Morning ), unfortunately she was interviewed by Naga ( I do wish that the producers would have a responsible adult on when she interviews, but I digress ). Amy discussed how broken her body was but how it did not diminish from her doing exercise and keeping fit. Simply philosophy to my train to the point where it is rest or recovery not rehabilitation.

All through July / August I was having recurring calf problems: run for say 10-15 minutes then the mystery sniper would pop out of a bush and shoot me in the right calf. Bang!

It felt like a sudden sharp cramp, very severe, reducing me to hopping. Sometimes I'd get some warning (assume this was the heat of the laser sight before he fired) and obviously think I could run it off before BANG! Another bullseye.

The last time it happened there was a fair bit of swelling and some visible bruising halfway up my calf. I was limping when walking.

So, after my summer holiday, where I got back in the water and did 10k over the two weeks, I decided to try being a grown up about it. I have started doing calf exercises, just like the physio said years ago when this happened. Active stretching is the key, to the point of muscle tiredness and lactic burn.

I started doing 1 min walk / 1 min slow run. Then 1:2 . All on the same flat local 6km route. Crucially, as soon as I felt even the vaguest hint of tightness I stopped and walked home.

After three walk/runs per week for 5 weeks I'm now adding in the occasional 3 min section. There's also a long slight downhill right in the middle of my route which has turned into a steady 1km run section. From today I'm upping it to 1min walk / 3mins run.

It has been incredibly difficult not to let this turn to frustration, but a review of some of the Sufferfest Mental Training Program notes has helped me turn it into a positive: this is what will allow me to keep running for many more years instead of being angry and frustrated. Based on this, I'm actually enjoying the process. I'm almost taking it too slow as I enjoy the anticipation of the final goal.

Take it steady, Jack. You're already doing much more than average. No need to go for the win just yet!